


the king is dead; long live the king

by starlightwalking



Series: Ataquenta Silmarillion [14]
Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Brotherly Angst, Canonical Character Death, Crispy Amrod, Feanorian Week 2020, Gen, Grief/Mourning, King Maglor, sort of? it's Maedhros; he's not actually dead but they don't know that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:01:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23436616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/pseuds/starlightwalking
Summary: Makalaurë's brothers press him to take the throne.
Relationships: Maglor | Makalaurë & Sons of Fëanor
Series: Ataquenta Silmarillion [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076816
Comments: 28
Kudos: 67
Collections: Feanorian Week 2020





	the king is dead; long live the king

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Dispossessed](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23279326) by [Isilloth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isilloth/pseuds/Isilloth). 



> Here's my late entry for Fëanorian Week 2020! This is for Day 2: Maglor, using the prompt "Kingship."  
> I've got another piece for Fëanorian Week coming up, but that one won't have Maglor in it, and this idea hit me like a sack of bricks while I was reading Isilloth's fic (linked as inspiration). I considered expanding it, but turned those angsty thoughts into a [tumblr post](https://surpassingvalour.tumblr.com/post/614173915287355392/dont-think-about-maglor-being-the-only-brother) over on my [new Maedhros blog](https://surpassingvalour.tumblr.com/) instead :(

"He's not dead yet."

Carnistir looked at him. "We don't know that, Kano."

"We need a king," Curufinwë pressed.

"We _have_ a king," Makalaurë repeated. "Nelyo."

"Nelyo's dead." Tyelkormo said it flat. "Dead as Telvo. Dead as Haru. Dead as Atar."

"We _don't know that._ " Makalaurë clenched his fist, trying not to shake in front of his brothers. "Telvo burned. Atar turned to ash. We saw Haur's broken body. But we haven't seen Nelyo's. I will not take the crown until we _know_ he is dead."

"This is foolishness," Curufinwë snapped. "We need your guidance. You are the eldest—"

" _Nelyo_ is the eldest."

Curufinwë bit his tongue, but didn't press the point. "You are our leader," he said, desperation creeping into his voice. "With Nolofinwë's people on the other side of the lake, we need a leader. We need you."

Makalaurë trembled as he paced back and forth across the dirt floor of their makeshift headquarters. "I know as much about leading as the rest of you," he muttered. "I never expected to be in this position—"

"None of us did," Carnistir growled. "None of us thought Atar would die, when we set out with him. And yet—"

"Kano, you're the smartest of us," Tyelko interrupted, stamping his foot. Makalaurë jumped at the sudden sound. "Curvo would say otherwise—"

"I would not, actually." Curufinwë's lip curled in a thin smile. "I may be the skilled Finwë, but I am not the Finwë with the strongest voice, and not only in song. That is our eldest brother."

"I am not..." Makalaurë trailed off, staring at Curufinwë like he had grown a second head. "Are you feeling alright, Curvo? That is the first time I have ever heard you express you were not the greatest in something."

"He knows there's no point in pretending anymore," Carnistir interjected. " _You_ don't seem to have realized that yet."

Makalaurë could hold himself back no longer: he wept, turning away from his brothers. "How can you have such faith in me?" he sobbed. "When I said nothing when we burned the ships— When I failed to rescue Nelyo— When—"

"We all burned the ships," said a quiet voice. Makalaurë looked up: he had almost forgotten Ambarussa was in the room. He was quiet, these days, without Ambarto to balance him. "Even I, before I realized..."

"Nelyo was the best of us," Tyelko said quietly. "But he is gone. And you are here."

Gone, yes— _gone_ was the truth, and Makalaurë knew it. He refused to believe that Maitimo was dead, not when they had no proof, not when Moringotto would taunt them with his corpse. But he was _gone_ , whether lost in the wild or captive in the very hells of Angamando, and Makalaurë was left to lead.

" _Please_ ," Curufinwë begged, and to hear him so afraid, so needy, was so unlike him that Makalaurë knew he had no choice. He could not let his little brothers down.

"Please, Kano," Carnistir echoed him, and Ambarussa nodded as Tyelko comforted him with a tight embrace.

Makalaurë hung his head. "Very well," he assented. "But I will not be your king, only a regent. I will lead only until Nelyo returns."

Carnistir and Curufinwë exchanged a look, but did not argue; he knew they were thinking that was a battle for another day.

"I'll get the horses ready for you to treat with Nolofinwë," Tyelko said.

"I'll tell our people," Curufinwë volunteered.

"I'll start working on altering Nelyo's robes for you," Carnistir said.

They all left, one by one, for their self-appointed tasks in burying Maitimo's memory, until only Makalaurë and Ambarussa remained.

"Thank you," Ambarussa murmured.

Makalaurë wiped his eyes. "Did it hurt like this? When you lost him? Like half your fëa was torn away?"

"It still does," Ambarussa whispered, not meeting his eyes. "I think it always will."

**Author's Note:**

> ETA 1/3/21: This has been added to my "base canon" series, but in that verse unlike in this fic, Amrod does not actually die. He does burn, but he survives. I considered changing the ending to this fic to reflect that, since I think the rest of this story fits really well into that verse, but ultimately the closing lines were too important for me to tweak. So, this is canon to my "base verse" except for that one detail; imagine instead for that verse that Ambarussa says something comparing almost-losing Ambarto to "actually"-losing Maitimo.
> 
> Thanks for reading and commenting!  
> You can find me on tumblr [@arofili](http://arofili.tumblr.com/).

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [don’t think about it](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27608282) by [starlightwalking](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/pseuds/starlightwalking)




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